Lighter



R. F. GARBER Oct. 24, 1950 LIGHTER Filed Deo. 3, 1948 Summer Patented Oct. 24, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENToFFlcE Application December 3, 1948, Serial No. 63,249

6 Claims. (Cl. 67-7.1)

My invention relates to lighters for cigars and cigarettes; and more particularly to those in which an abrasive wheel rubs upon a flint to strike a spark to ignite vapor rising from a wick saturated with a light hydrocarbon, commonly known as lighter fluid. In many of these lighters it is diliicult and troublesome to remove an old flint when renewal is neededfV The object of my invention is to provide a lighter in which the flint can be readily reached; in which the flint can be Fig. II is a transverse-section on line A-B v of Fig. I.

Fig. III is a fragmentary transverse section on line C--D of Fig. I.

Fig. IV is a plan of the body of the lighter, with the cover removed; and

Fig. V is alongitudinal central section through l the lighter with the top open andthe int assembly swung out from under the abrasive wheel.

Referring to the drawing in detaiL'the numeral 2 indicates the body of the lighter, having side walls 2a. and a transverse wall 2b forming a cell 4 for the wick, cotton and fluid; 6 the tube through which the wick is passed into the space under the cover 8, which is hinged to the body at I0. v

On the deck I2 of the body `2 is set the abrading wheel I4, mounted in the bracket I6. In Fig. IV, the bracket I6 is shown, but the abrading wheel is removed to allow the top` of the flint assembly to be seen. The flint assembly includes a tube I8, at the upper end of which the flint Tube I8 slides easily, but snuglyin` a cyilnder 38, at the lower end of which is a plug A32 perforated at 34 for the passage of an instrument to reach any part which may become tool tight in the cylinder 3U.

In cylinder 30, and interposedY between the bottom of the tube I8 and a washer 38 resting on plug 32, is a coiled spring 36. Washersof various thickness may beemployed tochange the compression of the spring 36. The function of this spring is to keep the flint 28 pressed against the edge of the abrasive wheel I4.

The flintassembly, consisting of the flintA 2U, tube I8 and cylinder 30 with spring36 is rei movably supported upon a shelf 46 projecting from a panel 40 hinged to the body of the lighter at 48, and constituting a door. This door isheld in closed position (Fig. I) by means of a flat spring 5I) which engages the inside ofthe oo ver 8 at 52. When the cover 8 is raised, the, door 48 is restrained from swinging away `fromthe body 2 of the lighter by a spring 54, secured on the inside of door 48, and shaped to frictionally engage the inside walls 2a. of the body 2 at 56 (Fig. I, III and V). It will beseen that'the flint assembly is normally housed Within a recess 5 formed by that portion of the side walls 2D is mounted in a flock or holderf22 having a :L

bore 24. The lower end of this bore is slightly contracted to prevent the int from passing allow an instrument, such as a stiff wire, to be passed up through perforation 28, tube I8 andbore 24 in nt holder 22 to eject any remnant of flint which cannot be removedV by other means.

:in the edge of the deck I2. wheel I4 clockwise to throw the flintrfrom under rest and guide for the tube I8, The forward edge lof deck I2 is similarly shaped, as `at S2, for the Asame purpose.

To move the flint from under the Wheel, I

-rotate the wheel, as seen inA Figs. I and V, clockwise. This will throw the flint outward to the left, away from the wheel, and with it, the flint assembly and door 40, which swings about pivot 48, as seen in Fig. V. To ignite the wick, the

-abrading wheel I4 is rotated in the opposite direction, and in this case, the flint holder is held steady, with the flint extending substantially radially of the wheel, by engagingA the seatj62 Upon rotatingrthe the Wheel, the spring 36 tends to eject the tube I8 from cylinder 38, and the movement of the tube I8 is limited by a slot-and-pin joint 'between tube I8 and cyilnder 36, as shown in Figs. I and V; wherein 42 is the slot cut in the side of tube I8, and 44 is the pin ilxed, preferably by means of a screw thread, into the wall of cylinder 3Q. To take the tube I8 out from the cylinder 30 it is only necessary to remove the pin 44 from the wall of the cylinder. Although the tube I8 cannot be taken out of cylinder until the pin 44 is removed from the cylinder, the wire instrument can be passed through the plug perforations 34, 28 and 24 to reach and expel a worn flint.

To return door 46, with flint assembly, to the closed position shown in Fig. I, it is only necessary to press tube I8, with the tip of the finger, down into cylinder 30, and then push the flint again under the abrasive wheel I4, until it extends substantially radially thereof.

At the bottom of cell 4, I provide a threaded plug 64, upon the removal of which, the cotton and fluid can be inserted into the cell.

In some lighters, it is usual to provide a spring device for throwing the cover up upon pressing a button or a resilient `part of the body of the lighter. Such a device is common, and may be employed if desired, but is not shown as it does not form a part of my invention.

What I have termed the flint, which cooperates with the abrading wheel I4 to strike a spark, may be of any suitable pyrophoric material; and it is to be understood that by abrasive or abrading wheel, I mean a wheel, or instrument, of such material, and shape, as will cooperate with the `flint and strike a spark to ignite combustible vapor. Such a wheel is usually made ol hardened steel. i

Instead of being hinged, as shown in Figs. l' iand II, the door 43 may be detachable from the body. The object of making the door hinged or detachable is that a convenient hold may be 'had on it when its upper endis moved from Vits `closed position to bring the flint away from under and clear of the abrasive wheel I4.

1 In describing my lighter, I have referred to the body and the door. Actually, there are two parte into which the casing of the lighter is divided longitudinally. These two parts are the ,fluid and lWick-holding part, on which also the abrading wheel is mounted; and the part upon `which the flint assembly is mounted. For the sake of brevity and clarity in the description of the lighter, I have termed the rst part the body, and the second part the door.

If it is desired, plug 26 may be omitted, Amaking the spring 36 longer to extend up into=the tube I8 and engage the underside of the flint holder 22. The cylinder plug 32 may also be omitted, letting the spring stand directly on the shelf 46; but in this case, when the wheel I4 is turned clockwise, as shown in Figs. I and V, the spring 36 might be dropped and lost while bringing the flint from under the wheel I4. I, therefore, prefer to use plug 32 in cylinder 3:) as a base for the spring 36.

Some advantages for my lighter are that when it is not in use, it is entirely closed, with no openings for the entry of dust or for the entry of air to evaporate fluid; it has no projections to catch in the pocket; to gain access to the flint, it is only necessary to turn the abrasive wheel in a direction opposite to that in which lt is turned to cooperate with the -flint to' make a spark, and thus the flint may be removed and replaced with great ease. v

I claim:

1. A lighter comprising an elongated casing containing a fuel chamber, an abrasive wheel mounted on the end of said chamber but offset laterally therefrom, a movable support pivoted at one end to said casing, and a flint mounted on said support and disposed adjacent the other end thereof, said support being movable in one direction into a position in which it engages the Walls of said chamber, and when in this position said flint extending radially of said wheel, resilient means carried by said support for urging said flint against said wheel, and means operated by rotation of said wheel for moving said support in the opposite direction to shift said ilint'away from said wheel.

2. A lighter comprising a fuel chamber having a top wall, an abrasive wheel mounted on said wall but projecting laterally to one side of said chamber, a wick tube extending through said wall, a support at the side of said chamber adjacent said wheel and movable into and out of engagement with said chamber, a flint carried by said support and, when said support is in engagement with said chamber, extending radially of said wheel, and resilient means carried by said support for urging said ilint into contact with said wheel, whereby, when said wheel is rotated in one direction, the flint is held stationary by engagement with said chamber, and said 'wheel throws sparks from said flint toward said wick tube, and when rotated in the opposite direction, said wheel moves said support so as to throw said flint out of contact with itself.

3. A lighter comprising an elongated casing having a transverse wall dividing it longitudinall-y into a fuel containing chamber and a flint containing chamber, disposed side by side, an abrasive wheel mounted on the top Wall of said first chamber and having a transversely extending axis disposed laterally thereof over said second chamber, a flint, and a spring within said second chamber urging said flint upwardly against said wheel, said flint and spring extending lengthwise ofthe casing and being carried bya panel movable outwardly away from said fuel chamber and constituting a wall of said flint' containing chamber.

4. A lighter comprising a casing divided lengthwise into two relatively movable parts, a flint mounted on and slidable lengthwise of one part, an abrading wheel mounted on the end of the other part adjacent the flint on the ilrst part, resilient means associated with the flint and constructed to press the flint against the periphery of the wheel, the said int being so positioned with respect to the wheel that when the wheel is rotated in one direction it will tend to hold the -flint carrying part stationary against the Wheel carrying part and will strike a spark from lsaid flint, while when the wheel is rotated in the vopposite direction it will thrust the flint away from itself and separate the two parts of the lighter.

5. In a lighter, a flint assembly comprising a holding block, a tube having an open end in which said block is set, said block having a bore and a flint mounted in said bore and projecting axially therefrom, the vopposite end of said tube having an opening in alinement with said bore Y'whereby a sharp instrument may be inserted through said tube and block to dislodge any remaining fragment of flint from said bore. f

6. In a lighter, the combination with an abrasive wheel rotatable about a fixed axis, of a wick tube disposed at one side of said axis, and a iiint holder pivotally mounted at the opposite side of said axis so as to move laterally toward and from the same, and means for arresting the pivotal movement of said holder toward said axis in a position in which the int carried thereby engages said wheel, whereby, when said wheel is turned in one direction it throws sparks from said flint toward said wick tube, and when turned in the yopposite direction, it swings said holder laterally away from such axis so as to move the flint out of contact with said wheel.

ROBERT F. GARBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,834,007 Segal Dec. 1, 1931 2,437,354 Gostkowski Mar. 9, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 61,916 Austria Nov. 10, 1913 252,860 Switzerland Jan. 31, 1948 276,253 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1927 509,273 France Aug. 12, 1920 

